We’re proud to announce another free regional workshop, to be held in Stanford California on July 25th. You’ll find the flyer onwww.thyca.org in the Conferences/Workshops section.

Our free workshops offer terrific opportunities to learn from experts and meet and share experiences, and support with other thyroid cancer survivors and caregivers.

You may come for part or all of the workshop.

Free. Register either online at www.thyca.org or onsite at the workshop.• For more information, e-mail to thyca@thyca.org or call 1-877-588-7904.• Visit ThyCa’s web site <www.thyca.org> for further details about the speakers, programs, and directions.

Every month, more than 60 thyroid cancer support groups hold meetings. Support group meetings are open to everyone whose lives have been touched by thyroid cancer.

The meetings offer wonderful opportunities to meet others in person and share experiences, strength, and hope while learning from others with varied situations with their thyroid cancer. Advance registration not required.

We’re adding new groups regularly, and welcome the newest groups:

Climax Springs, MissouriSandy Triplett is the volunteer facilitator. This group will hold a start-up meeting on Friday, June 5 at 12 noon. Uzma Khan, M.D., Endocrinologist of the University Medical Center, who participated both at the recent Midwest ThyCa Workshop and the 2008 Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Conference, will attend the meeting.

Pacifica, CaliforniaTrish Moran Sholl is the volunteer facilitator.The group’s first meeting will be on Saturday, June 6 at 3 p.m.

Go to our Local Support Groups page for a complete list of groups, contact information, and meeting schedules. Or, if you don’t have internet access, call (toll-free): 877-588-7904

Physician To Speak at ThyCa Silicon Valley, California, Support Group, Meeting on June 20

On Saturday, June 20, 2009, at 3 p.m., Haruko Akatsu, M.D., M.S, Associate Professor and Endocrinologist at Stanford Medical School, will be the guest speaker at the meeting of the ThyCa Silicon Valley, California, Support Group. For details and transportation directions, visit the group’s web site .

It’s quick and easy to sign up to receive our free online newsletter, plus announcements of ThyCa events and activities. It’s a great way to stay connected to the thyroid cancer community, and to stay up to date on changes in treatments and testing methods, especially if you’re a long-term survivor.

Just fill out our Guestbook form

To protect each person’s privacy, the mailing list is for the sole use of ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors' Association, Inc., and its affiliates. ThyCa does not ever sell, share, or give away any contact information.

New guidelines designed to standardize and optimize the diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of patients with Medullary Thyroid Cancer (MTC), an uncommon and challenging form of thyroid cancer, have been developed by the American Thyroid Association.

MTC is a complex and often difficult disease that accounts for about 4% of all thyroid cancer cases in the United States. Nearly 25% of cases worldwide are familial and present as an autosomal inherited disorder. In individuals with the inherited form of MTC, a preneoplastic lesion called C-cell hyperplasia will first develop and then progress to an invasive, life-threatening malignancy.

The American Thyroid Association has compiled 122 evidence-based recommendations that cover a range of clinical topics, including diagnosis and therapy for early disease, genetic testing, surgical management, post-surgical treatment and monitoring, management of persistent or recurrent MTC and metastatic disease, and long-term follow-up. The guidelines also propose directions for future research on MTC.

ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc. is pleased to have provided an unrestricted educational grant to help support the development of the guidelines. We thank our generous contributors for the donations that made this grant possible. We will soon have a link to these free guidelines on our web site. We also invite our web site visitors to read our special Medullary Thyroid Cancer section within our web site, and which continues to develop and expand.

Just send us your doctor’s complete mailing address and we’ll be happy to mail, free of charge, the new ATA Medullary Guidelines and the ATA Guidelines for Managing Differentiated Thyroid Cancer (Papillary and Follicular and their Variants). Our web site also has a link to the guidelines, for downloading.

Throughout the year, ThyCa is happy to mail free materials in bulk to health care professionals, hospitals, clinics, and community groups. Our mutual goal is the well-being of all patients and families, with free support and education available to everyone. Physicians, clinics, hospitals, and community group are major ways that people learn about our free support services, educational resources, and special events.

Our thanks to the American Society of Clinical Oncology for the scholarship support for participation by ThyCa representatives at ASCO’s Annual Meeting, We greatly appreciate this support of our learning about research and clinical advances for the treatment of all types of cancer, and for outreach to the medical community.

Representing ThyCa at this meeting, which runs from May 29, 2009 through June 2, 2009 in Orlando, Florida, are two of ThyCa’s Florida volunteers, Martha Adams and Leah Guljord.

Thyroid cancer affects people of all ages, from young children through senior citizens. We are pleased to make free Pediatric Backpacks, filled with useful information for children and their adult caregivers, ThyCa’s free Low-Iodine Cookbook, and Spirit and Gift Items, to families of young people coping with thyroid cancer.

Most recently, backpacks have gone to families in Newfoundland, Canada, and in Kansas and Texas. For more information about Pediatric Thyroid Cancer, and about the backpacks, visit our web site.

Our thanks to John Oaks of San Antonio, Texas, who once again this spring organized the Megan Stendebach Memorial Golf Tournament to raise funds for Thyroid Cancer Research. John hosted the festivities at his Hangin Tree Saloon in San Antonio, Texas. Megan, a longtime ThyCa volunteer and Board Member Emeritus, initiated this tournament with John Oaks many years ago, and John continued it after she lost her life to cancer last year. Over the years, this wonderful annual golf tournament in San Antonio has raised more than $90,000 for thyroid cancer research.

Would you, or someone you know, like our free Patient Information Packet? Just send an e-mail with your name and complete mailing address to us at thyca@thyca.org, with “patient packet” in the subject, or call us at 1-877-588-7904 and we’ll be happy to mail the packet.

Our web site has more than 650 pages of content. More than 50 distinguished physicians plus numerous other specialists provide ongoing input and review. We greatly appreciate the wonderful support of these medical specialists.

We update and expand the web site every week. Thank you to our Web team, Betty Solbjor and Joel Amromin; our Publications Committee members; and our Medical Reviewers.

Visit us often for the latest information updates, the schedules of local support group meetings, and news about special events, or to get involved.

And let us know if you have ideas for additional web site content, as well as additional questions to be answered by physicians. E-mail your ideas to thyca@thyca.org. This is our web site, and it benefits from everyone's contribution. It's also a great way to start being involved!

On October 16-18, 2009, you’re invited to the 12th International Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Conference, to be held just outside Boston, Massachusetts, at the Sheraton Ferncroft Hotel in Danvers.

Highlights of the conference's more than 100 sessions will be more than 40 sessions led by leading physicians. They will explain and answer your questions about the latest advances in treatment, long-term testing and follow-up, recent advances in targeted therapies for people with advanced metastatic disease and rare aggressive variants of thyroid cancer, and what’s happening with clinical trials testing new treatments.

As of early May, we have already confirmed more than 15 physician specialists from these and other leading medical centers. We expect to confirm more speakers soon.

Boston University Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts

Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts

Children’s Hospital of Boston, Boston, Massachusetts

Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts

Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary, Boston, Massachusetts

Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts

Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York

University of Connecticut Medical Center, Storrs, Connecticut

University of Florida, Jacksonville, Florida

University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas

In addition to the physician speakers, we plan also to have more than 30 additional speakers and roundtable leaders who will include other health care professionals, specialists in coping skills and complementary approaches to well-being such as Reiki, survivors of each type of thyroid cancer, as well as caregivers.For the third year in a row, the conference expects also to offer continuing education credits to nurses. Visit our web site often for updates and details. We’ll soon post the online and mail-in registration forms as well.

Our 2009 Conference Hotel Features Water Park, Other Attractions, Room Rates of $99 for Single, Double, Triple, or Quad

This year’s conference takes place at the beautiful Sheraton Ferncroft Hotel in Danvers, Massachusetts, on the north shore suburbs of Boston.

We’re proud that once again we’ve obtained a fantastic special room rate for Conference attendees— $99 plus tax for single, double, triple, or quad rooms. This rate is good for the nights before and after the conference as well. Be sure to reserve your room by late August to get the special rate.

Amenities include an indoor pool, sauna, and steam room; scenic walking and jogging trails surrounding the property; a fully equipped indoor fitness facility; and the new indoor water park, CoCo Key Water Resort. The Water Park makes the Sheraton Ferncroft a wonderful place to come for the whole family. The rate for full access to the Water Park is $30 per person per day.

The Sheraton Ferncroft Hotel is in a convenient location and offers amenities for all ages. The hotel is located 8 miles from historic Salem, 20 miles north of downtown Boston, and close to major interstate highways.

From VirginiaI have just learned that I have papillary thyroid cancer. I am blessed that the cancer was discovered very early and that my doctor seems very good and listens to me. He recommended that I visit ThyCa.org. This a wonderful website with the good work of so many people. I am grateful that these resources are available to people like me who have learned that they have the disease.

From OhioI have a few questions about the spirit/gift/awareness items that you list on your website. Do you still have the wristbands and the beaded bracelets available? I have an employee who is only 24 years old that is battling thyroid cancer. We'd like to do a group purchase in her honor on these items. I am guessing that we'd order about 10-12 total.

From CaliforniaI am a volunteer at a hospital Cancer Resource Center and would like to order the ThyCa patient services brochure. If possible I would like to order 40 copies.

From another E-mailerI'm so grateful that we have this LID cookbook as a resource.

Another…

Thank you so much for the most informative site regarding thyroid cancer. It was most helpful during my diagnosis, surgery, and treatment.

From CaliforniaI visited your website today (20 days post total thyroidectomy for papillary thyroid cancer). I would love it if you would send me the info packet mentioned on the web site. I see the endocrinologist for the first time today, expecting to get the lowdown on my RAI schedule. I am sure glad I found ThyCa and the recipes! Thanks to everyone who contributes to this great resource.

From LouisianaI would be interested in new brochures for our offices. We now have a group of 6 Endocrinologists.

From VirginiaI have just been caught up in a whirlwind of thyroid cancer diagnosis and surgeries, and would love to have a new patient packet. Thank you so much for the information on your website, as well, it has been very helpful.

Heat oil over medium heat in 8 inch non-stick skillet. Add onion, celery, and carrot and saute 2-3 minutes. Add rice, meat, and peas and heat through. Move rice mixture to outsides of pan, leaving an empty circle in the middle. Add egg white to middle of pan and stir frequently (stir the egg white only). When egg white is cooked, mix in with the rice mixture and add salt to taste..

Deb writes: “This is a quick and easy meal you can make with ingredients you hopefully have on hand for your ‘lo-io’ diet. I just got done with my low-iodine diet. Your cookbook was very helpful.”

Thank you, Deb! We’ll let people know about this recipe in the next edition of the FREE Downloadable Low-Iodine Cookbook.

Download the 6th edition of the Low-Iodine Cookbook, with more than 250 favorite recipes from more than 100 generous volunteers. The Cookbook is also available in Spanish.

This free cookbook is a wonderful help when you’re preparing to receive radioactive iodine for treatment or testing. All the recipes are the favorites of some of our ThyCa volunteers, who are sharing them with everyone, to make the low-iodine diet easy and tasty. The recipes are also great for family meals and for potlucks, any time.

If you’d like to contribute your favorite recipe or tip to the cookbook’s next edition, send it torecipes@thyca.org.

Thanks to generous contributions and special fundraising events, ThyCa will award new thyroid cancer research grants in support of our goal of cures for all thyroid cancer and a future free of thyroid cancer, for the 7th year in a row.

You can help support the Rally for Research. For details about the Rally for Research, donation opportunities, special events, ThyCa’s past and future Research Grants, visit the Rally for Research page.

We welcome new volunteers at any time. Volunteering for ThyCa is one way to help and support others touched by thyroid cancer, and you feel much better yourself because you know you have helped someone else through something you've been through. Try it; you might like it!

To learn about volunteer opportunities, visit our Volunteer page. You can sign-up to volunteer online using ourguestbook.

We are dedicated to support, education, and communication for thyroid cancer survivors, their families and friends, as well as to public awareness for early detection, treatment, and lifetime health monitoring, and to thyroid cancer research fundraising and research grants.